Stargazing News - April 16th, 2025
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All on Tue Apr 15 06:34:50 2025
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Overlooked Bright Galaxy NGC 2903 (evening)
It's surprising that Charles Messier omitted NGC 2903 from his list of "non- comets". This spectacular barred spiral galaxy in Leo shines at a bright 9th magnitude. Its apparent brightness is boosted by its tilt of only 24 from edge-on. The un-named galaxy is located in front of the lion's nose, 3.85 degrees SW of the bright star Algenubi (Epsilon Leonis), and just a thumb's width below (or 1.5 degrees south of) the magnitude 4.3 star Alterf (Lambda Leonis). Under reasonably dark skies, NGC 2903's concentrated oval core, aligned NNE-SSW and measuring 2 by 4 arc-minutes, can be seen in an 80-mm aperture telescope, or larger. Watch for variations in brightness in the halo due to abundant dusty patches and lanes, particularly on the eastern half.
(Data Courtesy of Starry Night)
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